A long stretch of competition and high altitude made it a tough week for Lindell
Oliver Lindell finished the Austrian Alpine Open with a round of 68 (-2). That was enough to tie for 47th place on Sunday afternoon with a total score of -7. As expected, the tournament was a flurry of birdies, with the winning score coming in at nearly -20. Lindell’s birdie rate was quite good, but he racked up an unusually high number of bogeys over the weekend.
A long run of tournaments without a proper break is inevitably starting to show in their performances. Their form has settled at a high level, with an off week meaning they comfortably make the cut, whilst on a good week they are in contention for the top spots.
“This run of competitions is really starting to take its toll; it’s becoming a bit of a grind at times. I’ve still got one more race to get through before I can enjoy a couple of weeks’ break at home and the schedule starts to lighten up a bit.”
The main reason for this week’s dip in form was a lacklustre performance in ballstriking. We’re used to seeing the Finn among the top ten in the approaching stats, but this week he’s languishing in the lower half of the field. The high altitude presented its own challenges on the course in the Alps.
“This week, I’ve had an unusually hard time getting the distance right on my shots. That’s down to too much variation in the arc of the shot. Low shots don’t fly any further than normal here, whereas high shots fly really far, and today we were often well off the mark with good shots.”
The most positive aspect of Lindell’s game this week was his putting, even though he managed two three-putt greens over the weekend.
“There were more birdie opportunities today than on the previous two days, but I just couldn’t get my putts in after Thursday. Today we were on the verge of a good round, and that 68 came quite easily. There were two opportunities for a bogey today and I took them both. A three-putt bogey, though, is always avoidable.”
After a storm delay, the tournament was won by Japan’s Kota Kaneko (-18), who carded three rounds of 65. He sealed the victory with a round of 67 on Sunday.